Spiked Gates
by TreacleTart301
Summary: To Draco it seemed an impossible situation. He felt certain that the Dark Lord meant for him to fail.


_"They trap us in borders, the adults_ _  
_ _There's no choice but to consent"_

 _-N.O, Bangtan Boys_

Draco Malfoy paced the borders of Malfoy Mansion. It was midnight and the gardens were pitch black. A light wind rustled through the trees in waves, causing the leaves to tremble and shake. With the amount of fear that radiated from the manor, he thought the trees had every reason to quiver.

The Dark Lord had chosen to reside in Draco's home as of late and the consequence of that decision had weighted heavily on everyone. Even the most loyal of the Death Eaters, like his aunt Bellatrix, found the atmosphere to be suffocating. The Dark Lord's fury at the mistakes made in the Ministry of Magic was unending. Everyone involved had been tortured for their failure, particularly Draco's father, who had led the failed mission.

Tonight had been no different. The Dark Lord had unleashed his rage with round after round of cruciatus curses and when he found that to not be effective enough, he'd made a concerted move to psychological warfare. Much to Draco's horror, the Dark Lord had set him the task of killing Albus Dumbledore with the stipulation that his failure would mean the death of his parents.

To Draco it seemed an impossible situation. He felt certain that the Dark Lord meant for him to fail. There was no way that he, an underage wizard, was in any way capable of defeating the greatest wizard of all time. There was no point in even pretending he had a chance. He knew that his death during the attempt was meant to be the final punishment for his father's failures.

The thought of committing out right murder had kept Draco from sleeping. Every time he'd laid his head down, violent images of people thrashing on the floor crept into his dreams until he'd given up any hope of rest. Dragging his weary body from the bed, he had fled into the deepest depths of his family garden.

As he stood at the edge of the gardens, he looked at the massive rod iron gates that had always guarded his family home. He'd never really had cause to study them before, but now he noticed the massive spikes at the tops pointing both outwards and inwards as if they had known that one day he might try to escape the confines of his home.

Pulling a bottle of firewhiskey from his pocket, Draco unscrewed the cap, pinched his nose, and took a deep swig. It tasted like goblin piss, but the pressure that the adults had placed on him was too much and he needed something to help him decompress. Downing a bit more of the potent liquid, he began to relax slightly.

In an instant, Draco realized that the answer to his problems was standing right in front of him. He could simply slip through the bars and be free of this nightmare. Maybe somewhere down the road he'd be able to find some polyjuice potion and disappear completely. As the alcohol took hold of him, the idea of liberation from this hell hole seemed more and more realistic.

Once he'd built up enough courage, Draco stood and stepped towards the gate. He waved his wand over it, testing for any spells that might be hidden on them. Everything seemed fine. Taking a step closer, he slowly extended a hand towards the rod iron and touched it tentatively, afraid they might shock or hurt him. Again, nothing happened.

Deciding that it was now or never, Draco stepped forward, slipping his right leg and hip between two of the bars. It would be tight, but if he held his breath, he'd be able to propel himself through. He was just about to push forward when he heard leaves crackling under feet behind him.

"Ah, Draco. Here you are," said a voice that made his blood curdle and his insides freeze. "But what are you doing? Not trying to escape now are you?"

Carefully, Draco withdrew his foot and swallowed down the fear and bile that were rising in his throat. He tried his best to clear his mind and block it from any intrusion. "No, my lord. I was just looking for weak points in the gates. While I believe that we are well protected, we wouldn't want to leave any holes for the Order of The Phoenix to slip through. I was just noticing how easily one could slide right across."

"Very astute observation, Draco. However, had you actually stepped across the middle, you'd have been impaled from above and below by sharp spikes. I do appreciate your effort to be thorough though. Now, come with me. We have much to discuss about your plans for Albus Dumbledore. I hope that you will be equally as astute with him."

The Dark Lord turned, heading back down the path, his black cloak whipping around him in the breeze. Draco took one last look at freedom and then turned away.

"Yes, my lord," he replied, walking quickly to catch up. Inwardly, he laughed. He, Draco Malfoy, was following the devil back through the gates of hell.

 _Hey there!_

 _This story was originally posted on HPFF for the KPop Lyric/Quote Challenge where it placed 2_ _nd_ _! I can't say that I've personally ever listened to KPop before, except maybe in passing, so I'm not familiar at all with it. That did present a bit of a challenge for me because I've no idea who the Bangtan Boys are or the mood of this song. In place of knowing the music, I tried to take the context of the quote and weave it into the story. For some reason, the idea of being trapped in borders made me really think of Draco, stuck at Malfoy Manor and the being forced to consent made me think of him being forced to kill Dumbledore._

 _Anyway, before I get too rambly, I hope you enjoyed this story and I'd love to hear any feedback that you have!_

 _Thank you for reading._

 _~Kaitlin/TreacleTart_


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